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Diffeomorphism — So you want to make plushies? A beginner's guide
Published: 2014-01-01 01:23:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 191306; Favourites: 2649; Downloads: 11511
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Phew, finally decided that this was good enough to publish! Only took like 10-20 readings after my initial rough draft.
Anyway, here's a guide I threw together for people who want to sew but have absolutely no idea where to start. I wrote this guide in a way which would've been most helpful to me back in May, when I decided to start sewing but didn't really know much besides mashing pieces of fabric together. Naturally the guide is written from my own perspective and experiences in sewing; ask other plushie makers and they'll have a whole different set of experiences and advice to share.
I tried to make the guide as comprehensive as possible, but one thing I didn't do was include links to resources. The reason for this is that links and videos can become outdated all the time, and part of the process of learning is being able to go out and find these resources. Nonetheless, one of the best resources I can recommend is Metroidhat's site , which gives not only visual instructions on how to do stitches but also some good step-by-step tutorials. I found myself going back there all the time when I was starting out.
If you have any questions, comments, or objections, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message! I wrote this guide to help people out, and I'd love to help out however I can! (Although I can't give my patterns away.) Speaking of which, if I get bored, I might release some sort of guide documenting my pattern-making process. It won't be any time soon but I figure it's something which people are interested in and that I'd like to write about. Be warned though, it's going to involve some pretentious math terminology
That's all. Happy New Year! 2014's gonna be a good year, I can tell.
Edit: Holy crap, 100 favorites already! I had no idea there'd be this big of a response. Thanks guys!
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Comments: 191
It's helped a lot more than some guides I've found ^~^;
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I have a question: I just made my first plush ever (caterpie!) and the issue I had with him was that once I stitched him up I could see the stitches on the outside, even though I did them on the inside. My ladder stitches weren't visible but my regular ones were. How do I avoid this in the future, as I don't plan on using a sewing machine any time soon.
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A lot of times it actually just depends on the fabric you use. I know that generally when I sew fleece by hand the stitches tend to be quite visible; fleece definitely seems to look much nicer when it's machine-sewn. However, for minky, which I use for all my plush, generally I can hand sew without stitches being visible from the outside, mostly because the fuzz covers the seams up. Other than that, I'm not sure I can offer much advice; just pay attention to the spacing and tension of your stitches, and perhaps consider using a backstitch.
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I tried backstitches actually on part of him and I found them to be more visible. I am using fleece. I don't think it helped that I was using white thread on green fleece 
Thanks for your help though 
Also one other thing and I promise I'll leave you alone lol! I use knots from my ladder stitches and they are VERY visible. Any tricks for hiding them? Or different knots? I've been using french knots for the top stitched details, but I don't think I can do that :/
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For the starting knots, you typically just have to figure out a good starting point that'll hide them. For the finishing knot, typically what I do is that after tying up the finishing knot, you want to bring the needle into the seam as close to the knot as possible and pull the string through tightly; many times this will cause the knot to get pulled into the seam, and you won't be able to see it from the outside.
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Oh I see! Thank you so much!
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This in an amazing guide! I'm trying to start learning how to make plushs and this has really helped ^v^ especially the bit about the patterns
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No problem, glad I could help! Yeah I definitely understand how pattern stuff can be pretty intimidating; it really is true that being good at making patterns just involves trying over and over again. The only way to get better at making plushies is to make more plushies.
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Thank you so much for this piece of happy text and advises. ^_^
I've no idea if it'll be of use but I fave it anyway so I do not loose it.
What is the hardest to make plush you've done until today?
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No problem! As for the hardest plush, does the first one count? 
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This is a great guide! I'm just starting to make some pony plushies after about 6+ months of not sewing. I'll always look at this as a reference if I have trouble with any projects. Thank you for making this!
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Awesome, good luck! There's a lot of decent pony patterns out there with which to get started; Voodoo-Tiki has a lot of pony patterns and tutorials. I don't make ponies but if you have any questions feel free to let me know!
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Thanks! I'm actually using their Pony Loaf pattern. It's turning out well so far. :3
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Thank you for making this. I can cry. Cause, there's no place here in my country that sells those stuff....
Or maybe I just didn't see any yet...
Though it is RARE to see a craft shop fully furnished...
I even buy yarns online...
*bawls*
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Hm that's surprising, you'd think there's some place that at least stocks some cheap fabric. Keep your eyes peeled, I'm sure you'll find something!
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I will. I'll hunt anything cheap. Especially yarns as well...
Hey, I can see a good business chance here. haha
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THANK YOU for this! I needed that.
I can relate to the beginning of your story, I'm currently studying economy and the likes as well, nothing that has to do with making plushies. And I had a scary mean teacher that one time everybody had to take sewing classes at school, many years ago! So I got a distance from that topic. But I still love and appreciate good looking plushies. I swear those unique ones from practiced plushie makers always look better than those mass-produced plushies in stores. I'm a nit-pick like that. It became one of the reasons why I thought about making the plushies myself (I REALLY want to have a medium-sized Donphan one day).
I'll save this file! So I can read it and follow it step by step as soon as I feel brave enough to make this new kind of art. C:
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Yup, sounds a lot like me! I admired Pokemon plushies for the longest time and remember admiring like crazy anyone who could make plushies. Well, I certainly still admire plenty of plushie makers, but now it's like I really wish I had started earlier. Ah well. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions!
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I have a little question, only because I wonder. When you're making/figuring out patterns and stuff, do you need to be good at math? Because I actually suck at math. xD
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Not really, lots of people have different ways of creating patterns. Some people can even make things without using patterns, which of course I find impossible. I just find that using math helps me organize my approach. None of it is too complicated anyway; as long as you understand that you can't connect two sides if they don't have the same length, then I think you're good to go.
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Alright, good to know. Thank you!
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I've been looking forward to making plushies for a VERY LONG TIME.
Now I have set up a sewing room and am now practicing the basic stitching process.
I hope to one day have adorable plushies that I can look at with satisfaction and say "I made that"
This has inspired me to do so much more than just 'make plushies,' but to embrace the fact that it is hard work, but satisfying.
Thank you tons for this guide!
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Man, I wish I could have a designated sewing room, mostly it's just a buncha crap cluttering my desk, haha. Best of luck with your plushies; feel free to ask if you need anything!
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Thanks so much! And I definitely will.
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You inspired me to try making a Gengar plushie!
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Awesome, good luck! Gengar has a pretty simple body shape, though it's got a lot of spikes on the back.
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Thank you so much you dont understand the impact its made on me! As a beginner at sewing I get easily discouraged, and hardly inspired especially compared to many other plush artists out there.
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No problem! Getting discouraged is definitely all part of the process. My first few plushies were definitely a little lackluster, and even now I'll feel like I can't get a pattern right or that something's not coming out as I'd hoped.
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Would you mind if I saw a first attempt?
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You can see the first Helioptile plush I made on my 2013 in review picture . (I used to have it up on my dA but I got tired of looking at it so I stashed it
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Its actually pretty good for a first try I can't even manage to make flat plushies, but I'm going to try making a 4 piece sphere (dango?) so thank you <3
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Haha, no problem, good luck! It's really is all just practice, practice, practice.
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You really inspired me! I was thinking of making plushies for so long now and after reading this I am so motivated like i never was before. Plus I kinda feel like in a dark hole at the moment, where nothing of my hobbies is making any fun any more and I was so depressed about that.
So I really hope this will be a hobby a can put my time and feelings into. Thank you so much!
I'll be right off to my mother after work to get some of her old fabric to start practice.
THANK YOU!
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Thank you for this guide! I've wanted to learn to make plushies for ages but I never knew how to start. I have most of the supplies already plus some sewing experience, so I think I'll try it out. ;u;
The thing is though...I'd have no idea what to do for the eyes of the plush. I know I could use felt or buttons, but I think having the eyes embroidered on would look best. I don't know how to embroider things by hand or have the machine for it though. Are there any tutorials/videos you'd recommend I see to learn how to embroider things(by hand, of course)...?
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Hm, unfortunately I recall hand-embroidery tutorials being rather sparse when I dabbled in hand embroidery. Just look up how to do basic things like satin stitches and fill stitches, and plan your plushes accordingly so that hopefully you don't have to hand-embroider enormous areas. In particular, if there's a feature which can be sewn into the plushie (e.g. the whites of an eye), that can significantly cut down the amount of hand embroidery you need to work with. Hand-embroidery is no doubt a time-consuming endeavor, but I've seen a lot of artists whose final hand-embroidered products looked machine-quality!
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Thank you for making this, I'll go learn how to stitch, then start with the plushies!
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This is a nice little beginner's guide too, I love the idea of trying to sew a sphere first, I should try that at some point.
Also, on the subject of guys who sew, I know one - my dad! He's in his fifties and enjoys quilting, my mom got him into it. X3 His main hobby right now is dying fabric, but he has used his hand-dyed pieces before in quilts, I have one he made me for Christmas one year on my couch! (My whole family is into crafting - my grandma used to quilt and sew but she can't anymore, my brother is getting into jewelry making and welding, my mom quilts and has done some crochet and embroidery in the past.)
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Haha, my family for the most part isn't crafty at all. My sister did a lot of painting (she was actually an Art major) but no real crafts works. My parents definitely have no interest in artsy stuff at all. And as I've said for the millionth time, I came from a math/computery background, so it was really surprising when I found my roots in being crafty. The whole guide is pretty much me trying to tell myself a year ago, "Hey, maybe you should pick this up, you can totally do it!"
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That was a great read and some good information, thank you
I think it can also apply to beading. I go through beading thread like mad as I experiment, and needles get bent up being as thin as they are. The cost starts to build after a while. And because there are so many different tools, it is better to stick to one style of beading until the money is earned to pay for new tools/materials to try new techniques. It takes a while for me to come up with a solid pattern that fits perfectly together, so in my case, commissions are out of the question. Finally, finding materials that look great but come at a good price so the savings can be passed on to the buyers
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Absolutely, the commissions section could've fit into an introduction about any crafts hobby. Material costs really do build up quick, especially when I'm running around buying things to try new things out, only to find that they don't work as expected. For plush makers I've seen so many posts about where to buy minky fabric, so it's great to see that people are helping each other find the best resources.
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Inspirational and well written! (Tho I doubt I will ever make time for ...another... hobby). But I love the insight on your lovely work!
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Haha yeah, don't want to spread yourself too thin
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I have a question! I already know how to sew a bit, but I never figured out what to do with the last bit. I mean, when I sew everything inside-out and then invert it so I can stuff it. There is that last bit still need to be sewed. But with my plushies you can see where it was inverted because the seam is on the outside.
I've seen so many plush artists who seamed so good, everything is on the inside and you can't find where it was inverted! How do they do that?!
Eh, I hope you know what I mean...
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I know what you mean! Closing up the last hole can be difficult, and I'm certainly not perfect at it at all. A friend of mine linked this tutorial about hiding knots and closing up seams .
In general, my advice is to make sure your plush is stuffed enough around the hole; if your plush is well-stuffed, the hole that you need to close should be well-defined and it'll be somewhat obvious where to put the needle through. Be sure to tuck in the excess fabric allowance so it doesn't get in your way. If you can, try to invert out of parts of the plushies which are somewhat flat, since it's easier to close up a hole on a flat part than it is on a curve.
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